Programme

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major,  K. 488
Johan Wagenaar Concert Ouverture Op. 11, Joy of Spring
Charles Villiers Stanford Concert Overture 
Charles Wood Patrick Sarsfield Variations

Performers

Mishka Rushdie Momen Piano
Jac van Steen Conductor

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Enjoy an afternoon of much-loved masterpieces and rarely heard gems, with local connections.

This programme opens with Mozart‘s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488, one of the crowning achievements of the Classical repertoire. Loved for its lyrical grace, radiant charm and profound emotional depth, it contains some of Mozart’s most inspired music, including a slow movement of extraordinary beauty. The multi awarding-winning pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen, described in The Times as “one of the most thoughtful and sensitive of British pianists”, makes her Ulster Hall debut as soloist.

From Mozartian magic, we move to a concert overture by Johan Wagenaar: the Dutch organist and composer’s Joy of Spring Op. 11.  Written in 1892, the work showcases his flair for creating music of exuberance and warmth, with hints of the influence of composers like Berlioz and Richard Strauss.

We come closer to home to round off the concert, with works by Stanford and Charles Wood: teacher and student. The Dublin-born composer taught Wood at the Royal College of Music in the 1880s, after his move from Armagh, where he’d been a choirboy at the Church of Ireland cathedral. Their connection also went further, as Wood succeeded Stanford as Professor of Music at Cambridge University. The Stanford Concert Overture, written when he was just 18, is one of his earliest surviving orchestral works, revealing a remarkable musical maturity and youthful energy. The Patrick Sarsfield Variations which follow, are based on the Irish tune Patrick Sarsfield, associated with the celebrated 17th-century Irish soldier and Jacobite hero. Written in 1899, they display Wood’s fine approach to melody and the classical skills inherited from Stanford: a fitting tribute to Wood, in this the centenary year of his death.

Approx. running time: 1 hour.
Ages: 10+, with 16s and under to be accompanied by a guardian.